Niche
by FanWriter02
Summary: HTTYD 3 SPOILERS. They'd talked about it before. I mean, Hiccup was sure many people in the village had, but, to them it was only wishful thinking. They knew, deep down, that it was best to let the dragons be. Besides, how could they possibly find them? But when Zephyr was born, all Hiccup could think was... she'd never know. He needed her to know. One-shot.


Hiya guys! *waves* Longtime no see. XD Here's a little HTTYD 3 fic, so, beware, **there are spoilers.** And I'm not entirely sure if I have the right names to the right faces for the two kiddos, but I think I do, so let me know if I got them mixed up or something. Lot's of love, enjoy!

**Niche**

They'd talked about it before. I mean, Hiccup was sure many people in the village had, but, to them it was only wishful thinking. They knew, deep down, that it was best to let the dragons be. Besides, how could they possibly find them?

It had been six years now. Most everyone had moved on- even the gang. They had their own families now to care for. Those years of myth were behind them all. They had responsibilities, whatever thoughts there were needed to be sensible ones.

But Hiccup… he couldn't stop thinking. It was like asking him to lose an arm, or his other leg. A part of himself. At first, he'd tried to forget. He'd tried so hard. But, with Astrid and his Mom's help, he'd realized that wasn't going to work. Just like it didn't work with his Dad, it wasn't going to work with Toothless.

So after a horrid first three weeks of working non- stop, going without rest, and countless nights spent in the make-shift forge, Hiccup finally just sat down and thought. He thought hard about all the years he and Toothless spent together. How much his life had changed.

Did he cry? Heck yeah. And he admitted it, too. It felt like betrayel if he didn't. Toothless was worth all the tears in the world.

But after crying himself dry, he'd picked himself up, and thought again. Toothless wasn't dead. He was just gone, living a good life. He imagined what he'd be doing right then. Were there eggs, now? Was Toothless to be a family man (dragon)?

Hiccup refused to go on the hunting trips with the others. He'd tried, at first (one out of the many of his "tries" to be "fails") but the first thing he'd thought of when he saw the buck, with a doe, was Toothless. Those animals were wild, and happy, and content. Was Toothless happy and content, too?

He didn't go from then on out. The younger teens of Berk greatly enjoyed the assignment of hunting, so he let them have it.

He settled down. He and Astrid were married, and for awhile, he was… happy. Yeah, happy. Enjoying life. He learned to sail, he built carts alongside the carpenter, he adjusted to life as it was.

And as long as he thought of Toothless as happy and contently "married" just as he was, he was okay.

Then… Zephyr arrived.

His world changed forever.

As he held the little bundle in his arms for the first time, he looked up into Astrid's tired, albeit joyful, eyes and said brokenly. "She'll never know."

Later on that night, he left the baby to Astrid. And while they slept, he cried. Because she'd never meet the dragon who made all that existed happen. Without Toothless, would Zephyr even exist?

And, again, after he cried, he dried his tears and stood, determined to do something.

He never told anyone but Astrid. She knew from the beginning, because not 24 hours after Zephyr was born, Hiccup slipped into bed beside his wife, kissed her forehead and picked her hand up in his. She whispered his name in question.

"I'm going to fix this, Astrid. Why can't we visit? Once a year, maybe. But… I need her to know how her Daddy became what he is. A chief. Hiccup Haddock III." His voice cracked. Astrid moved her hand from his and placed it on his cheek. He blinked back tears.

His eyes fell to the child nestled against her chest. Gently, he pulled back the blanket from her face. Little, half-open blue eyes stared back at him. It was in that moment, that he made a silent promise.

Astrid had protested once. The next week, when he'd come in with scrolls of old maps and compases, she'd said, "Hiccup, are you sure about this?"

He'd kissed her, then proceeded to kiss little Zephyr's forehead. "I'm sure, Astrid. So sure."

She'd smiled. Then, when she was strong enough, she helped. She'd gather information. She poured over books alongside him. She'd scribble notes. She'd watch the wind. Studied stars. They both did, and soon, Hiccup thought he'd figured it out.

By that time, there were two little tykes to bundle up. Valka would take care of Berk for a few days, and with supplies to last weeks, and a small ship, they set off, unsure of what lay ahead but excited all the same.

Hiccup could hardly keep himself contained. He would ramble on, stuttering like a mad man, gesturing like there was no tomorrow. Astrid simply watched from her perch on a bench as he rushed from one place to the next, Zephyr and Nuffink close behind as they listened attentively. They'd heard the stories many times before, but they never seemed to tire of hearing them.

"And now, you'll finally get to see a real dragon." Hiccup concluded, bending down to scoop both kids in his arms, smothering them with prickly kisses.

"Toothless? And Stormfly?" Nuffink giggled, grabbing at Hiccup's beard.

Hiccup said, "Of course! It might take a few days of travel, but by Thor's hammer we'll find them."

He believed it too. Deep down in his gut, he knew that he was going to see his best friend soon.

It took longer than he'd calculated, and even then they still hadn't found the Hidden World. Toothless found them.

Hiccup had been studying one of his maps, scratching behind his ear in bemusement. The kids were snoozing in Astrid's lap, while Astrid dozed off, occasionaly jerking back to attention when he'd mutter something about his awful penmanship.

"Can't hardly read what it says." He grumbled.

The ship rocked, suddenly. Looking up, Hiccup's jaw dropped at the small black shape that was disappearing into the mist. Without bothering to roll the map back up, he tossed it aside and stuffed his compas into his satchel. He rushed to the rudder and steadied the boat. Astrid asked what was wrong, her eyes, too, on the sky.

"_Something_, Astrid." Hiccup whispered, hardly able to contain his excitement. "I don't think it was Toothless, too small, but-"

The ship rocked again, from below. They all peared over the edge, and Zephyr gave a little gasp when the giant shape of a Scaldron slipped back into the abyss.

"Hiccup-" Astrid breathed.

The ship bounced. They lifted there heads, and Hiccup's heart nearly stopped.  
Toothless was perched on the front of the boat, his pupils in slits, wings extended, standing in a way that meant he was ready to move should he be at all threatened.

Hiccup's eyes unexpectedly welled with tears. His heart thumped against his ribs, his chest aching with emotions. "T-Toothless…" His voice was barely a whisper.

The dragon's ear flaps flipped upright. They were the only things that moved. Silence fell in a thick, heavy blanket over the small group of sailors.

He slowly moved forward, his leg creaking against the wood. While Toothless himself didn't move, his eyes did follow Hiccup. Had he forgotten already? Hiccup swallowed thickly, his mind a whirlwind of uncertain thoughts.

He paused, mere feet away from Toothless's nose. He was so close he could hear the dragon's heavy breathing.

He didn't say a word. Instead, he looked away, his eyes closed, hoping… praying, that he'd walk away from this with both hands intact. He slowly extended his arm. He thought he heard Zephyr or Nuffink whisper a little "Daddy.", but he was so busy focusing on Toothless, he wasn't sure.

His hand felt the heat from Toothless's breath as he grew closer. The boat creaked slightly- Toothless must've shifted. Hiccup tried to keep from shaking.

And then, warm scales met his fingers. He released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking in awe at Toothless's now wide pupils. The dragon crooned, his body wriggling with glee and a toothless smile splitting his face.

"Toothless!" Hiccup exploded. How long he'd held that in! Years, he'd wanted to talk to his friend again. And here he was, a dream fulfilled.

He hugged Toothless fiercely. The dragon was bouncing a little on his perch, still rumbling with happy dragon words that Hiccup could only imagine meant he was happy to see him.

"Thor, bud, I thought I'd never see you again." He said.

How long did they stand like that, locked in an embrace? Who knows. Hiccup lost track of time in those few minutes. Finally, he pulled away, giving Toothless a friendly rub between his nubs. "Bud." He simply said. He was at a lost of words.

Toothless's eyes moved from Hiccup's face to something behind him. He remembered then, why he'd come.

"Toothless- meet Zephyr and Nuffink." Hiccup turned and motioned for the kids to step forward. They desperately clung to Astrid, their eyes wider then saucers. She laughed softly before leading them by the hands to where Hiccup stood. He protectively draped an arm of the two shaking little bodies. "This is my family, bud."

Toothless huffed in curiosity, leaning forward even more to try and sniff them. His eyes were just as wide as theirs when he pulled back. He glanced to Hiccup, who smiled proudly.  
"My children, Toothless. This is Zephyr, and this is my son Nuffink." said children squeaked in alarm. Hiccup glanced from the kids to Toothless, then back at his children. "Here, I-I'll show you how it's done." He grabbed one of each of their hands and held them out, so they were directed towards Toothless. The dragon, already more than trusting of whatever Hiccup presented to him, played along. After a few sniffs of their palms, he pressed his face against them.

The kids peaked out from behind their fingers in awe and delighted surprise. Nuffink launched into Hiccup's arms, suddenly shy. But Zephyr lingered, her hand rubbing the soft spot between Toothless' eyes.

"He's so pretty." She whispered.

Hiccup looked up at Astrid, who smiled softly. He was only then aware of how wide his own smile was, and of how happy he felt. This… this is what it was all about. This is what had been missing all along. That little hollow spot, the little part of him that never felt quite right? _This,_ right here, right before his eyes. This was that little niche, finally filled.


End file.
